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Russia smuggling Ukrainian grain to help pay for Putin’s war

In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barley and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP) FILE - Smoke rises from the front lines between Ukrainian and Russian troops, with a farm in the foreground in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine, Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File) FILE - A farmer stands in a crater left by a Russian shell on his field in the village of Ptyche in eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, June 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File) This combination of Planet Labs satellite images shows a grain elevator in Rubizhne, Ukraine on April 8, 2022, top, and after it was hit by Russian forces on April 21. (Planet Labs via AP) This Planet Labs satellite image shows a ship-to-ship transfer in the Kerch Strait, between Crimea and Russia, on Sept. 16, 2022. Satellite imagery and transponder data reviewed by The Associated Press shows numerous large cargo ships anchored off the Russian coast rendezvousing with smaller ships shuttling grain from both occupied Ukrainian ports in Crimea and Russian ports, obscuring the true origin of the cargo. Those larger ships then carried the blended grain to ports in Egypt, Libya, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. (Planet Labs via AP) Grain is unloaded from the cargo ship SV. Nikolay docked in Izmir, Turkey, on June 25, 2022. The grain, which satellite imagery shows was loaded at the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port of Sevastopol, Crimea, was purchased by the Turkish food company Yayla Agro. A spokesman for the company said it had been provided documents stating the cargo had come from the small Russian port of Kavkaz, more than 160 miles (257 kilometers) to the east of Sevastopol. (AP Photo/Yoruk Isik) Grain from the cargo ship Russian-owned Fedor is loaded onto trucks in Bandirma, Turkey, on June 17, 2022. The grain, which satellite imagery shows was loaded at the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port of Sevastopol, Crimea, was purchased by the Turkish food company Yayla Agro. A spokesman for the company said it had been provided documents stating the cargo had come from the small Russian port of Kavkaz, more than 160 miles to the east of Sevastopol. (AP Photo/Yoruk Isik) Grain from the Russian-owned cargo ship Fedor is loaded onto trucks in Bandirma, Turkey, on June 17, 2022. The grain, which satellite imagery shows was loaded at the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port of Sevastopol, Crimea, was purchased by the Turkish food company Yayla Agro. A spokesman for the company said it had been provided documents stating the cargo had come from the small Russian port of Kavkaz, more than 160 miles to the east of Sevastopol. (AP Photo/Yoruk Isik) FILE - During a trip organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian soldiers stand guard as foreign journalists visit a grain elevator in Melitopol, southern Ukraine, Thursday, July 14, 2022. An investigation by The Associated Press shows a Russian-run smuggling operation has been transporting grain from occupied regions of Ukraine by train and truck to ports in Crimea, where it is shipped to buyers in the Middle East. (AP Photo, File) FILE - During a trip organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense, a Russian soldier stands guard atop a military truck as foreign journalists observe farmers at the Voznesenka-Agro farm harvest grain in a field near Melitopol, southern Ukraine, on Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo, File) Grain from the cargo ship Mikhail Nenashev is loaded onto trucks at a Russian-owned steel mill in Dörtyol, Turkey on June 27, 2022. An Associated Press investigation shows the ship, owned by sanctioned Russian state-owned defense contractor, is part of an extensive Russian-run smuggling operation that has been hauling stolen Ukrainian grain from ports in occupied Crimea to customers in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Yoruk Isik) This Planet Labs satellite image shows some of the trucks headed to Crimea backed up for more than a mile (more than 1.6 kilometers) at a border checkpoint at Chonhar, Ukraine, on June 17, 2022. An investigation by The Associated Press shows a Russian-run smuggling operation has been transporting grain from occupied regions of Ukraine by train and truck to ports in Crimea, where it is shipped to buyers in the Middle East. (Planet Labs via AP) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Mikhail Nenashev is docked at the Russian-controlled Avlita Grain Terminal in Sevastopol, Crimea, on July 24, 2022. An Associated Press investigation shows the ship, owned by a sanctioned Russian state-owned defense contractor, is part of an extensive Russian-run smuggling operation that has been hauling stolen Ukrainian grain from ports in occupied Crimea to customers in the Middle East. (Planet Labs via AP) The cargo ship Mikhail Nenashev sails through the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 4, 2022. An Associated Press investigation shows the ship, owned by a sanctioned Russian state-owned defense contractor, is part of an extensive Russian-run smuggling operation that has been hauling stolen Ukrainian grain from ports in occupied Crimea to customers in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Yoruk Isik) This Planet Labs satellite image shows a ship-to-ship transfer in the Kerch Strait, between Crimea and Russia, on July 18, 2022. Satellite imagery and transponder data reviewed by The Associated Press shows numerous large cargo ships anchored off the Russian coast rendezvousing with smaller ships shuttling grain from both occupied Ukrainian ports in Crimea and Russian ports, obscuring the true origin of the cargo. Those larger ships then carried the blended grain to ports in Egypt, Libya, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. (Planet Labs via AP) FILE - Next to a crater left by a Russian rocket, a farmer harvests a field 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the front line between Russian and Ukranian forces, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File) FILE - A farmer holds grain in his barn in the village of Ptyche in eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, June 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File) This image from video provided on Friday, July 29, 2022, shows the cargo ship Laodicea docked at a seaport in Tripoli, Lebanon. Lebanese officials rejected protests from Ukraine that the ship was carrying 10,000 metric tons of grain stolen by Russia. However, satellite imagery reviewed by The Associated Press shows the ship had been loaded two weeks earlier in Crimea, a part of Ukraine occupied by Russia. (AP Photo) In this Planet Labs satellite image, the cargo ship Laodicea is docked at a port in Feodosia, Crimea, on July 11, 2022. Two weeks later, when it arrived at the Lebanese port city Tripoli, a manifest falsely claimed the barely and wheat flour in its hold was loaded at a small Russian port on the other side of the Black Sea. (Planet Labs via AP)